Talk on bats in Glacier Park this Saturday

Environmental Issues, News, ,

This looks interesting, even if you are not exactly a bat aficionado . . .

Montana House and the Glacier National Park Fund will co-host a free and public presentation by Glacier National Park wildlife biologist Lisa Bate on “What’s So Important About Bats?” at Montana House, in Apgar Village, on Saturday, Nov. 10, at 4 p.m. Bate will discuss current findings of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Bat Inventory and Monitoring Project that started in 2011. Reservations required. Call 888-5393. There will be an open house after presentation.

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Larry Wilson: Racking up the bear encounters

Commentary, News, ,

Larry talks about the start of hunting season and some recent bear encounters . . .

In my neighborhood, Trail Creek, the early snow translated to hunter success. Although I have yet to get my winter’s meat, my close neighbors have harvested two bull elk and at least four whitetail bucks.

I don’t know whether other North Fork neighborhoods have been as successful, but apparently not. I accompanied a neighbor to town with his elk last Sunday, and R.J. at the checking station said it was the first elk he’d seen, and he’d checked only two deer in the first two weekends of the hunting season. The checking station is only open on weekends, so animals taken out during the week are not recorded.

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Larry Wilson: Group meets on Flathead National Forest Plan

Commentary, News,

Larry reports on a recent meeting of folks interested in the upcoming revision of the Flathead Forest Plan . . .

Updating the Flathead National Forest Plan is almost as much of a controversy as what to do with the North Fork Road. Same thing with the passage of a Montana wilderness bill.

Apparently the Forest Service is going to try again to create a new, updated Forest Plan. According to Flathead Forest supervisor Chip Weber, the Forest is taking preliminary steps, and the process will probably gear up for action in mid-2013.

At least three environmental groups with a big interest in the Whitefish Range have decided to put together a diverse collaborative group to try and influence what happens in the Whitefish Range. The group includes North Fork residents — all three presidents of North Fork organizations plus a few others, Whitefish Mountain Resort representatives, logging interests and a couple of recreationists. Also present for the first meeting were two representatives from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. The Kootenai people have strong historical ties to the upper North Fork.

After a two-hour meeting moderated by former Montana Secretary of State Bob Brown, the group decided it was worth meeting again to explore reaching some agreement that would aid the Forest in writing a new plan.

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Montana’s wolverine trapping season heads to court

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

The Flathead Beacon has an excellent article on the wolverine trapping issue, including a few words from the always-pithy Doug Chadwick. Recommended reading . . . . . .

While wolverines’ protected status under the Endangered Species Act remains in limbo, Montana’s trapping season is quickly approaching and a coalition of conservation groups is trying to stop trappers from harvesting any wolverines in the state until the species rebounds to a stable population.

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Flathead Forest Friday breakfast at the Nite Owl, Friday, Nov 16

News, ,

We got a  note today from Wade Muehlhof, Public Affairs Officer for the Flathead National Forest, announcing a “Flathead Forest Friday” breakfast at the Nite Owl in Columbia Falls on Friday, November 16. The idea is to let folks know what is going on in the district and to respond to questions and comments. It sounds like they are planning to make this a regular, every two months event. Here’s the official notice  . . .

Please help spread the word in the North Fork!

Come meet and greet the new Hungry Horse/Glacier View District Ranger Rob Davies at the November Flathead Forest Friday breakfast on Friday, November 16, 2012 from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. at the Nite Owl on Highway 2 in Columbia Falls.

In addition to Ranger Davies, Spotted Bear District Ranger Deb Mucklow will be available for information and questions.  Deb will provide an overview of this summer’s work on the Spotted Bear district and the fires in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, but mostly we want to hear your questions and find out what is on your mind.

The Flathead National Forest will coordinate a no-host breakfast meeting every-other month with the goal of sharing good food, great company, and a little information about what’s happening on our National Forest.

I hope you will join Rangers Davies and Mucklow for our November Flathead Forest Friday breakfast at the Nite Owl.  If you plan to attend or have any questions, please notify Public Affairs Officer Wade Muehlhof at ewmuehlhof@fs.fed.us or (406) 758-5252 by November 14.

(By the way, I’m pretty sure “no-host breakfast” means everyone pays for their own meal.)

Larry Wilson: North Fork patrols will stop poachers

Commentary,

Larry talks about the start of hunting season and puts poachers on notice . . .

Hunters should be satisfied if not downright ecstatic. The first day of the general hunting season, we had nearly an inch of fresh snow on the ground. The usually wrong weather bureau predicts more of the same for the next several days. We shall see.

I didn’t go out hunting the first day, but I did keep a good watch out my front windows in case a careless whitetail buck wandered in. My watching was supported by my chocolate lab, Buddy, who has finally learned to not bark at deer or elk. No easy deer the first day, but we still have several weeks.

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First anniversary of Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Our friends on the other side of the Divide, the Coalition to Protect the Rocky Mountain Front, point out that we’ve just passed the first anniversary of the introduction of the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act. The Front is a vital link in the larger Crown of the Continent ecosystem, of which the North Fork is a part.

They suggest this would be a good time to send Senator Max Baucus a note thanking him for his efforts so far. For more information or ideas on points you may want to bring up in your email go to http://www.savethefront.org/thank_max.html.

Send emails to Senator Baucus at http://baucus.senate.gov/?p=contact.

Spawning surveys find stable bull trout population

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Here’s some good news . . .

Recently completed bull-trout spawning surveys in the North and Middle Fork Flathead river drainages indicate there is a stable population, according to state biologists.

This year’s surveys were a comprehensive, basinwide effort that focused on all of the known spawning streams in the North and Middle Fork drainages. The basinwide surveys, carried out every few years, were conducted on 31 streams, including the eight “index” streams that are surveyed every year in the North and Middle Fork drainages.

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Montana’s fire season officially ends

Fire Information and Status, News, , ,

Montana’s fire season officially ends at midnight tonight (Wednesday, October 17). Open burning will be permitted locally until the end of November. The Flathead Beacon has a write-up . . .

Montana’s fire season will officially end at midnight tonight and most restrictions will be lifted across the state, according to the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

DNRC Director Mary Sexton and Forestry Division Administrator Bob Harrington signed the proclamation effectively ending the wildfire season and rescinding fire restrictions for state and private classified forest lands.

Fire restrictions will remain in some areas of the state, but open burning will be permitted in Flathead and Lake counties until Nov. 30. Burning will be shut down from Dec. 1 through Feb. 28 due to air quality regulations.

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Larry Wilson: Fifth-generation North Fork wedding

Commentary, History, , ,

Larry spent a few days in Seattle last week, officiating at a fifth-generation, North Fork-connected wedding . . .

I spent most of last week in the Seattle area officiating at a wedding. I have had the honor of doing this several times, and this is only the second time I felt it was worthy of mention in this North Fork column.

The first, which was the first ceremony I ever performed, was when I officiated at John Fredericks’ latest wedding when he married Sharon Costantino. That ceremony was performed in a meadow south of Polebridge, and the bride was delivered in the back of a pickup. Also, the ceremony was mostly attended by family and North Fork friends.

This most recent wedding took place more than 500 miles from the North Fork, but the groom is the fifth-generation of his family with North Fork ties. That makes his wedding of interest to North Forkers.

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